The Phantom's Drive
by Storm Reaper VII
Summary: Sequel to 'The Soulmate's Challenge,' it's easy to see that Joker has grown stronger in the many months he's been living with Sojiro. He's improved immensely both as an individual and as a Persona user, but one of his friends notices that his largest improvement has come both recently and suddenly... is there an explanation for that?


_**A Phantom's Drive**_

"Thank you for treating me to lunch, I was feeling a touch pekish," Yusuke told his friends with a smile as he wiped the last of the sauce on his plate up with a finger. "The basic miracles that can come from eating reheated curry." He tasted it, delighting once more on the final touch of flavor.

"Hehe, I get the feeling that Yusuke-san would be fine eating just about anything that would keep him full," Haru said with a slight giggle.

"Maybe, but Leblanc's special curry tastes just as good reheated as it does fresh," Futaba told them both with a smile as she took their plates away and stuck them in the sink. Sojiro had taken the odd morning off and had decided to take a walk around the local park and get some air with Morgana, just having left a few minutes ago. Thanks to a mix up of orders last night, he'd had extra curry already made in the shop which made the perfect meal to treat Haru and Yusuke to. This of course left…

"So… what's become of Akira?" Yusuke asked to Futaba.

"A late night leading to a late start; tried to study for when he goes back to school and lost track of time," Futaba informed. "He's probably going to be on rest mode for a few hours longer… You know how he loves to sleep in."

"Like you have any room to talk, I can still recall the _weeks_ that you'd spent in bed while we needed your help to stop the Majed crisis."

"Shut it Inari!" Futaba shouted, as was her usual response in dealing with Yusuke. "I'll have you know that I've started working out recently! I've gone 4 times in the last 5 days."

"Really? That's wonderful," Haru told her sounding proud of Futaba's strides. "They say that commiting to go to the gym is always the hardest part. I'm sure you'll be seeing results soon."

"I hope," Futaba said before sighing slightly. "Though… I can't help but feel that I've been slowing Joker whenever we go."

"Nonsense, whenever I have you there I always have to work twice as hard to show off," the leader of the infamous _Phantom Thieves_ said as he walked down the steps, his hair still damp after his apparent shower and his shirt still half unbuttoned. "I'm sorry I didn't respond to your text, I was out cold last… night?" Joker paused on that last word as he looked to the latest member of the Phantom Thieves. "...Haru?"

"EEP! I-I wasn't staring!" she promised her leader as she turned her head away a deep blush on her face.

"I think you're breaking her," Futaba scolded her boyfriend with a pout. "Shouldn't you have your shirt buttoned up?"

"Haven't finished drying off yet. Besides, everyone in the team's already seen me shirtless after our time at the beach and Hawaii, even Haru."

"S-Still I-I think it's a matter of decency, right Yusuke?" Haru tried to ask for support. The artist in the room didn't say anything… not until he stood with a dramatic force. "Yusuke?" He then made his way forward, standing directly in front of Joker… before placing his hands on his chest. "E-E-E-E-EHHHHH!?"

"I-Inari! Hands off!" Futaba tried to shout, her face completely crimson in her blush like Haru's.

"Dammit, can't believe I forgot my… hat," came Sojiro Sakura's voice as he entered his restaurant with Morgana in search of his headwear… instead coming across the sight of a flushed Haru and Futaba as Yusuke seemed to be groping his current ward's exposed chest. "...Nope." Sojiro then wisely left the building, trying to keep his mind still as it was filled by far too many questions.

"That… was the correct response," the cat agreed as he followed closely behind the coffee maker.

"I see…" Yusuke said as he finally moved his hands away from Joker's chest and instead tested his shoulder and then his arms. "You've been increasing the muscle mass on your body then."

"THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT!?" Futaba screamed at him.

"You could've just asked," their leader told the artist nonchalantly as he adjusted his glasses.

"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS!?" Futaba demanded from her boyfriend.

"Just… I've come to expect things like this from Yusuke," he told his girlfriend and (finally) buttoned up the rest of his shirt. "After all, he wanted to paint a nude portrait of Ann when we first met."

"Th-then what you wanted to do to Joker was-!?" Haru asked, her face so flushed that Akira was starting to worry that she may pass out any moment now.

"Truth to be told, the thought has crossed my mind on more than one occasion; I feel he'd be an exceptional focus to draw," the artist admitted, only then noticing that Futaba had lifted a chair over her head and was threatening to throw it at him. "...My, you _have_ been working out."

"I TOLD YOU!" she roared as she reeled back her throw. Figuring it would be best to step in, Joker walked between his two friends and took the chair from Futaba's grasp with a single arm. "Hey!"

"It's just a joke between friends; he's harmless… mostly," he added that last part before effortlessly setting the chair on the ground.

"Your arm showed no signs of shaking or hesitation; a perfect maneuver," Yusuke noted. "You've certainly become much stronger and in a short time too no less; I remember the trouble that our fight with Niijima-san's shadow put us through… Shido on the other hand…"

 _One Week Prior_

"Nnnnngh…! How are these low life brats beating me?" Shido's shadow groaned as he slowly began to stagger, the metal limiters along his body seeming to weigh him down much more than they had when the battle had just begun.

"Now's our chance! Let's take his treasure!" Futaba called out to the party that had already been on the receiving end of his attacks for some time now.

"No, not just yet…" Joker told them all darkly, stopping everyone's rush for the treasure. "He isn't finished yet; in fact..."

"So you've caught on!" Shido shouted as the ground began to quake. "To think I'd actually have to use my full power on dimwitted nothings like you… But I'll educate you fully! This is the power given to the rulers of Society!" With one final thrust of his muscles, the metal bracers broke before everyone leaving Shido buffer, resonating darker energy, and red with rage.

"This… his power level is over Nine-Thousand!" Futaba shouted as a warning. "He's so much stronger than he was earlier it's wonder the ship doesn't break in half!"

"Holy crap!" Ryuji shouted. "Are were really able to beat something like that!"

"I… I don't know!" a worried Morgana shouted with a cringe as the power only intensified.

"To think a mere political would be this strong," Yusuke winced as he held a painful wound he'd earned earlier in the fight, only to notice one person not fazed by said power boost as they slowly made their way forward. "Joker?"

"Everyone stay back… I'll finish him myself," the Thief Leader promised as he kept his knife at the ready.

"Alone!? You'll get killed out there!" Futaba shouted. "We're a team! You're supposed to trust in us!"

"And I do… that's how I made it this far," Joker said before smiling warmly at his girlfriend in her awakened _Persona_. "But this is something I just have to do myself; for all of us who had to be dragged into Shido's schemes!"

"Please no…" Futaba begged with worry.

"Hah! You really trust your friends that much!?" Shido laughed. "You're either the most ignorant child I've ever meant or the most willfully blind! There is no one in this world that you could possibly trust! Everyone is your enemy and only wears a mask to hide their true intentions!"

"...Spoken like a true politician," Joker said before smiling tauntingly. "I'll finish this on my next attack… think you can stop me?"

"COCKY BRAT!" Shido yelled as he rushed forward with a powerful punch. Rolling out of the way, Joker managed to dodge the initial strike and made his way to his feet. Not giving Joker a chance to attack, Shido tried attacking him with _Deathbound_ , but again Joker leapt out of the way. He then summoned a column of flames to erupt from the ground, but the nature of Joker's current _Persona_ shielded him completely from the attack.

"Joker you can't just keep dodging!" Ann yelled at him from the sidelines. "You have to fight back!"

"Let us help you! You need us for this fight!" Haru shouted in a desperate plea.

Joker didn't say anything, only continue to dance around Shido and dodging all of his attacks without striking back. Shido then fired off a death curse upon Joker which he was able to dodge, but this put him right in punching distance. Smiling evilly, Shido wound up a devastating haymaker on Joker…

 _CLANG!_

Only to have it knocked away by Joker's knife with ease. The politician grunted in shock as he stumbled back while Joker just stood there like nothing had happened. He tried using _Deathbound_ a second time and this time Joker didn't even try to dodge. Everyone saw the multitude of attacks hit… but it didn't look like their friend even winced.

"Wait… these readings… Joker's power just skyrocketed and Shido's is falling fast! How is this possible!?"

"Y-You-!" Shido shouted as he rushed at Joker in an enraged fury of raw strikes, all of which Joker pratically _walked_ around with their slow speed speed. "What did you do to me!?"

"Easy, while you were so busy focused on killing me I was lowering your power as far I could while charging my own to it's peak," Joker told him before smiling tauntingly once more. "Guess you didn't think I was a big enough threat to plan something like this; it's always the little guys too small to remember that brings down corrupt monarchs like you. And you actually thought you could _steer_ this country? When I first met you, you were too drunk to steer a car."

"Don't you dare… DON'T YOU DARE PATRONIZE ME!" Shido said before throwing a final fist forward. Joker didn't even move as the attack was blocked dead before it could reach him. Shido gaped at the _Persona_ before him as did Joker's teammates as this was one they had never seen before; a feudal age samurai carrying a katana in each hand. Joker stared down the giant man that had ruined his life with eyes so cold that Shido's shadow felt like it was no longer in it's personal palace, but rather its own special hell.

" _Hassou Tobi."_

 _Back to the Present_

"When I saw that attack land, Joker had me worried that there would be nothing of his shadow left," Haru said as she thought back to the fight. "But I knew the type of person you were and that you'd never put him through a mental shutdown… even if that's what he'd done to my father."

"And my mother," Futaba said, sadly thinking back to the event that had changed her life forever. She then tried to give a smile no matter how much it hurt. "But, I guess that just means that Joker's able to make the right decision… even if it's the hard one."

"I'd have to call it a true testament to his character," Yusuke had to compliment in agreement. "That _Persona_ though… you must have been growing that particular one for some time. How did you manage to do so without our knowledge?"

"That's where this guy gets in trouble," Futaba said as Joker cringed, leaving Yusuke and Haru rather confused. "I found out that this guy had been bribing Morgana away with sushi and heading into Mamentos on his own to train… in the dead of night even."

"You'd do something that dangerous?" Haru asked as her leader suddenly found the jars of coffee on the wall _very_ interesting. "That… that doesn't seem like something you'd do, especially without us knowing."

"..." Joker didn't say anything for a long moment until he took a deep breath and removed off his glasses to wipe them clean, much the same way Sojiro would when he was serious. "Remember when we had to head into Momentos to change the hearts of Mister and Misses Magario?"

"I believe so… weren't they the parents of that Kana girl? The one that Futaba had gone to elementary school with?" Yusuke noted. "That was a difficult fight and… I see."

That should have been a regular job for the group, but the Shadows had been much stronger than had been expected. So strong in fact that while the group was dealing with Mrs. Magario's shadow, her husband's had managed to lay a direct hit on Futaba and her _Persona_. Since she was a supporter and not a fighter, the attack cleaved through what few defenses it had like butter and wounded her greatly… Both Haru and Yusuke remember seeing how terrified Joker had been at the sight. Futaba had been healed by Ann and Makoto easily enough after the battle… but the group couldn't help but notice how recluse he'd been afterwards.

"I suppose that's when you were heading into Mementos alone," Haru figured sadly. "You… you wanted to be sure of your own power… and you couldn't let us worry about your own growth."

"I felt like I had to be stronger, strong enough to where I could handle any shadow myself if I needed to…" Joker admitted as he placed his now cleaned glasses back on.

"Not to worry though, I set him straight," Futaba told them both before slapping a hand on Joker's back. "Now he won't be doing any of that risky stuff without my say so!"

"...Right, but in exchange she has to be close enough where she can keep an eye on me," Joker told them as put his arm around Futaba and held her close.

"A Maiden Hermit and her Phantom Fool…" Yusuke noted as he thought the concept over, surprising Joker with his correct assignment of the Arcanas. "That might make for an interesting picture, perhaps I'll have to consult you on further ideas after all."

"Don't go drawing Joker's face Yusuke, he's supposed to be dead," their youngest member reminded with a scowl.

"Would a set of masks be more appropriate for the both of you then?" Yusuke asked with a rather playful smile.

"Hee, maybe," Futaba told him, giving a rare Yusuke-directed smile. "Maybe something cool and Shinto based?"

"That or we could wear uniforms like your _Phoenix Ranger_ action figures," Akira jokingly suggested, leading for him and Futaba to strike a dynamic pose with each other. "Featherman-!"

"VICTORY!" they both cheered together, despite how dorky it obviously looked. Yusuke simply chuckled at the absurdity while Haru began laughing merrily.

"You two really are the cutest together," Haru noted in her laughter. Once she was finished though, her complexion began turning a stage sadder. "I just hope…"

"Hey, that's what we're going out to do today right?" Joker tried to assure her as he threw his sweatshirt on and pulled his hood over.

"You're heading out?" Futaba asked, a little surprised since he hadn't told her of any plans.

"With Haru, yeah," Joker told her. "She's meeting today with on of the higher-ups at Okumura Foods and we're trying to get a new policy idea through… along with finally cancelling that damn marriage contract."

"You mean it's still on even after… what happened?" Yusuke tried to ask, failing to find a way to bring up the changes in the company that should have come directly after Futaba's father had suffered a mental breakdown and died as a result. "I'd... thought it would have been voided by now. This must be terrifying for you."

"It's… been difficult yes, but Joker's been there to give me support however he can. I feel like if he's there with me that I can finally put my foot down and nullify the contract," Haru said with confidence.

"I'm sure you'll be able to," Joker said as words of encouragement before checking his phone. "Let's get going, we should probably arrive there early if we're going to make a good impression."

"Right! With you there I feel like I can do anything!" Haru told him as she gathered her confidence and he opened the door for them.

"Hold it just a moment, buster," Futaba ordered stopping Joker for all of a moment before she pulled him down and gave him quick kiss, this time upon his lips. "Be careful, that's an order."

"Yes ma'am," her boyfriend promised with a caring smile, leaving out the door and closing it behind him.

"And then there were two," Yusuke said as he began before he gathered his belongs. "I should be heading off as well. Until our next study session then."

"Laters Inari," Futaba told her _foxy_ friend as he left through the door. Digging out her laptop, she began doing some of her own personal work. It wasn't long later before Sojiro returned with Morgana.

"Where'd everyone go?" the cafe owner asked as he looked around.

"Evacuated a bit ago; Joker's heading somewhere with Haru," she informed.

"Right… so you're sure he's not secretly leaving with Yusuke?" Morgana asked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes and an underlying snarkiness to his tone.

"Wha-!? MONA!" Futaba screamed as she tried to catch the cat who only leaped out of the way and up the stairs while Futaba tried to use the stamina her workout had given her to try and run the cat down. "Get back here you!"

' _The cat meows once and she suddenly has this bad of an outburst? ...I'm glad that her boyfriend at least can understand them both because she's been losing me far too often lately,'_ Sojiro thought to himself as he headed to fix himself a cup of coffee, feeling the additional caffeine was needed if he wanted to get through any more of today's antics.


End file.
